


three little words

by teasockschocolate



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: F/M, I Love You, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 02:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14070882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teasockschocolate/pseuds/teasockschocolate
Summary: Anne didn’t need to tell Phillip that she loved him. She knew that he knew she did. It’s not that she hadn’t wanted to tell him any time he’d told her. She just couldn’t. The words stuck in her throat. All she’d loved had been stolen at some point from her. Her parents, her home. All she had that she freely loved was her brother. And for so long she’d been terrified of loving anyone else for fear that they would leave her too.But she wasn't afraid anymore.





	three little words

“Anne, you really don’t have to stay,” Phillip repeated for the fifth time that evening, looking slightly guilty as he slowly moved through the mountain of papers on his desk. Payroll, loans, attendance books, animal upkeep — all fun things to keep track of as ringmaster. Barnum had conveniently forgotten about the papers that were due at the end of each month, leaving it all on Phillip’s plate at the last minute on the night of August 30th. 

“Shut up.” She’d replied each time. “Can’t have you going home alone now this late at night, can I? You’re too dainty.” She teased this time and he stuck his tongue out at her. 

Most of the performers lived on the fairground in tents or trailers. As Phillip and Barnum had the means to have their own housing, a small trailer served as the ringmaster office. A cot had been stashed in the far corner for nights like this when whoever was on that night couldn’t make it home. Anne now was curled like a cat on the cot, her ambers eyes lazily watching him.

“I’m sorry about this,” He mumbled again.

Anne shrugged. “Not your fault. Besides, I don’t mind being with you.”

Phillip threw her a wink over the papers which broadened her smile.

“I should be done pretty soon, I promise.” 

Anne leaned against the wall of the trailer and shrugged again. “Whenever.” 

She picked up a book of the floor, her eyes barely skimming the pages as her attention was diverted to the man across from her. She tilted her head to the side and watched him work. She loved that she could do this now — look at him as much and as often as she liked. No more stolen glances and pining looks. Now he was hers. Her heart swelled as she took him in — disheveled hair, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, tongue poking out the side of his mouth as he scribbled frantically. In public he was always put together with his perfectly groomed hair and pressed clothes. She loved that she got to be the only one who saw him like this. 

She loved everything about him.

He had told her he loved her before. Repeatedly. Not to push her to say it back, but for the same reason she watched him unabashed now. Because she could now without there being any pain attached. Every time she kissed him she felt amazingly free. Her chest burst and her heart sang. She didn’t have to hide it anymore. She could love him freely now.

Anne didn’t need to tell Phillip that she loved him. She knew that he knew she did. It’s not that she hadn’t wanted to tell him any time he’d told her. She just couldn’t. The words stuck in her throat. All she’d loved had been stolen at some point from her. Her parents, her home. All she had that she freely loved was her brother. And for so long she’d been terrified of loving anyone else for fear that they would leave her too.

But he wouldn’t leave. 

Phillip had proven time and time again that he would stick by her no matter what. That he would go through hell and back for her. 

And god, did she love him.

It didn’t terrify her anymore to admit it. The knowledge used to clench her chest and ignite a raging battle between her head and heart. But now the unburdened joy she now felt when she looked at him was unlike anything she’d experienced before. She wasn’t afraid anymore.

“Phillip?” Anne casually lowered to book and leaned forward, cupping her chin in her hand balanced on her knee.

“Yeah?” He flipped a document over and didn’t look up from his work.

“I love you.”

Silence.

His head snapped up so quickly she swore she heard it crack. 

“What did you say?” His eyes were wide and his lips parted, so desperate that she’d said what he thought.

“I love you.” Anne repeated. She loved saying it out loud. The words were sweet and ringing and she could say them forever.

He pushed his chair back, still staring at her in awe.

“I love you.” She said again, a grin stretching across her face.

Phillip stood up and crossed to her, standing before her with a lopsided smile. 

With a sudden start, she realized that he could probably count the times someone had said that to him on one hand. The realization caused her heart to both sink and soar, and she vowed she wouldn’t let a single moment go by in which Phillip Carlyle wasn’t certain he was loved for the rest of her life.

Anne reached up and tugged him down to her, pressing her lips firmly against his. She pulled him to the cot, pressing him beneath her into the mattress.

“I love you.” She murmured against the shell of his ear. 

The noise from his throat was a mix of a whimper and a hum as he blindly reached for her, eager lips searching for hers and holding her tightly to him. She kissed his nose. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

“Well, since you say it,” The corner of his mouth twitched. “I love you too.” 

“Really?” She laughed and feigned surprise. “Well, that’s good news.”

He enveloped her in his arms, kissing her soundly. When they pulled apart for air, his eyes shone with unshed tears. God, his eyes; they were a clear ocean she wanted to drown in forever.

“Are you crying?” Her laugh was light and teasing.

“No,” Phillip mumbled, not able to contain his grin.

“Aww,” She pressed her fingers into his side and he squirmed away with an indignant snort. “It’s okay, honey.” Anne pressed her brow to his. 

He tipped his head and quickly kissed her. “What brought this on?”

“I’m not scared anymore.” She shrugged and rested her chin on his sternum. “I just love you.”

The joy that exploded across his face lit up the room; a warm ray of light and love that spread from her fingertips to her toes.

“I love you,” He whispered back, threading his hands in her hair. 

“I love you.”


End file.
